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I hope you don't get tackled taking your XBOX 360 home since you won't have a receipt to show for it.
2 replies
I hope you don't get tackled taking your XBOX 360 home since you won't have a receipt to show for it.
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He turned in a Compaq laptop and got an Xbox 360? I don't think I would complain ;)
Ok, all Compaq bashing aside... do they still make laptops or are they just rebadged HPs? Or is this a really old laptop?
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@dohtem: HP has a Compaq line of laptops they still manufacture.
On a side note, I once sent my old Pavilion HP in for service, and it came back with new BIOS, and had a Compaq splash screen rather than HP....
A couple of our older laptops at the office were HP Compaq nx9010s. Complete pieces of junk.
@dohtem: Best buy is selling compaq netbooks on black friday for 180 bucks. Any takers?!? ;(
Compaq was always garbage as was HP. It's like garbage returning to the dump from whence it came (after floating in the ocean for a while).
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@Pupator: Except that is not what happened. When it was checked in it was correct, now it's not. Compounding the issue is the fact they have his service order # blank. Add on the fact that when he called to ask about it he was told \"uhhhhh...anything can happen\" and I'd say something is seriously amiss here beyond some service tech typing in the wrong sku.
I just got the exact same thing on e-mail on Nov 11th. New service number with no number attached and saying Microsoft XBox info under Manufacturer. They have had my Toshiba laptop going on three weeks.
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@Sameday:
The idea that it's happened once is weird. The idea that it's happened twice is amusing.
If it happens a third time... GEEK SQUAD ARE WITCHES!
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@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: I think at the end of the year we should have a vote for the top 10 \"Why s ths n Cnsmrst?\" posts.
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@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: Can we really make this a contest, since there seem to be a lot of them? Can we? Can we, huh?
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@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: I'm pretty sure a standard \"why s ths n Cnsmrst?\" is the worst since the other disemvoweled posts tend to actually make some kind of effort at justifying the junk comment. Or maybe that just makes it more sad.
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Does ANYONE actually ever had a good experience with Geek Squad?
@wchamilton: I've only used them once, but it was a fine experience.
My computer stopped booting and hung on a black screen. I did all I knew to do, e.g. check for bad memory or hard drive, try reinstalling the OS, swap in a known to work graphics card, and it still hung on the screen. I suspected a bad power supply, but I didn't have a way to check that. So, I took it to the squad, clearly explained the problem and what I had tried, and gave my baby to them for a diagnostic. Within 24 hours I got a call back and the PS wasn't putting out the full rated amount. I went back, paid the minimal bench fee, and ordered a new PS from Newegg. Problem solved.
Usually I can fix things myself, but if you are intelligent and lacking proper test equipment, the Geek Squad can be of some use. It's the people who know less than the squad members who usually have the best horror stories.
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@wchamilton: I've never had a BAD experience with them, actually. I think a good 85% of the problems people have are because they don't properly know how to explain issues, or they simply don't understand the policy, i.e. complaining that their computer won't boot up and then being mad that Geek Squad won't fix it when it boots up just fine for them.
That said, they are moving more and more every day from computer technicians to salespeople. There was a time when you had to actually know something about fixing computers to work there.
@jaya9581: A Best Buy just opened in my area and I applied to work part-time with their Geek Squad. I'm A+ Certified with 5 years of Help Desk experience and close to 10 years experience building PCs. They never called me for an interview.
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@wchamilton: Probably because of your lack of experience.
As @jaya9581 noted, Geek Squad is a sales force. Not a tech support force. Any repair more complicated than an OS reinstall or malware scan gets sent off site. So it's not important to hire people who know how to build/fix computers. Instead, it's prudent to hire folks who can effectively sell service plans and then declare them void at a later date.
We just had a Micro Center Electroics open up about 2 blocks from my house. So I'm glad to say I might never set foot in a Best Buy again. Thank you Micro Center. Sure, you're not perfect, but what's more important is that you're not Best Buy!
@plamoni: I am in lurve with Micro Center. The one \"near\" me does price matches online, and they always have cheap branded flash drives and memory cards near the checkout.
@Dafrety: Who doesn't love MC? They have just about everything except graphics cards/cases deeply discounted. I got a Core 2 Quad (Q9550) for $100 off! ($150)
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Clearly a typo (or something), but I have to wonder who gets their machine serviced at geek squad? All I read are horror stories about over priced service on simple repairs they send out to the OEM anyhow (which you could have done too).
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@SkuldChan:
I'm guessing that in order to use the best buy service plan he had to go through best buy.
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@temporaryerror: But again, why would anyone *who reads consumerist* get a best buy service plan?
I suppose it could've been purchased before being enlightened about what going through BB's screwed-up service system might actually involve.
@SkuldChan: In particular, why would anyone *who reads consumerist* get their computer serviced at Geek Squad?
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Well, technically they ARE right. Anything CAN happen. It just doesn't always.
Looks like someone needs to add \"laptop\" to their Christmas wishlist.
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oh geek squad and their fail boat :)
they must've learned the \"special\" magic on the short bus :)
I think microsoft is going to give you a better shot of actually having your computer fixed than HP. Better hope it comes back as an elite.
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@pecan 3.14159265: Actually, after checking out his little profile, the fact that pupator has one follower...and it is pupator...qualifies this is the new leader in the clubhouse.
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@pecan 3.14159265: maybe pupator wouldn't be so curmudgeony if s/he had some friends. Anyone want to volunteer to click the heart? Not me...
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@dorianh49: No heart clicky, but how about I complain about that funky vowel-less code he typed in?
(I guess I should add the /sarcasm tag, so I don't get tackled...)
This may actually be a blessing in disguise. Hopefully Best Buy loses your laptop and they'll replace it with a new one which is the same price you paid for yours. That's what happened when they lost my ipod anyway.
@A Penguin On The Telly: Yeah, but all your information is still on your old laptop. Even if you have it all backed up somewhere, it's annoying to think that someone out there can just read all of your college dissertations.
To be honest, I have had great luck with Geek Squad. I had an extended warranty with them for my laptop, and 2 years into it, my hard drive crashed. Brought it in (it was 120 gig), they tested it and agreed and all they had was a 320 gig, so within 2 hours, they had the new 360 gig HD installed. They were real nice about it. Probably depends where you go, no reason to send it in for a HD.
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This happened to me on a Best Buy repair. A 27\" TV went in and a few weeks later it turned into a camcorder. The net result was \"Pick any 27\" TV as a replacement.\"
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I am SO jealous that Best Buy has figured out the secrets of alchemy.
Next stop, gold!
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I think a small claims lawsuit would help...
Is Compaq part of HP now? I wonder which has a worse failure rate -- HP laptops or Xboxes. Sounds like a close race, from the horror stories we read here!
As for Best Buy and the Geek Squad -- why would anyone buy a big-ticket item like a computer at BB to begin with?
And then compound the problem by buying one of their extended warranties??? Why not just wear a tag on your butt, \"Kick me here\"...
Hey, OP, keep us updated. I'm dying to know if they actually give you back an Xbox
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Was this courtesy of the Great Pumpkin?
thats what you get for buying at bestbuy!!!!
no sypathy atall.
Let us know if you actually get an Xbox 360 back, and REALLY let us know if you can actually get onto Xbox Live with it. :)
Here let me be helpful. OP call 888-BESTBUY and have them check their records. It's possible there is a database error with the web site and the main phone number or even the local store has different systems which should be correct.
This same thing recently happen to my girlfriend. Two weeks ago she brought her camera in to have it sent off to be fix. Checks her service number a few days ago and finds that camera is now a xbox 360. Turns out they never sent her camera in and the manger said that her number was dropped and replace with a new order number.
It's a website bug. Same thing happened to one of my customers a couple of weeks ago, but everything was correct in the repair system (where it counts).
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It's a Halloween miracle!!